Schmolck

Question 1

When was Schmolck conducted?

Answer 1

2002

Question 2

What was the aim?

Answer 2

To investigate the effects of brain damage on semantic memory

Question 3

What was the sample?

Answer 3

Six participants with amnesia (one of whom was H.M) and eight ordinary people (7 males and 1 female, all aged 74 with an education of 12.4 years.

Question 4

What groups were the amnesia patients divided into?

Answer 4

• 2 with brain damage restricted to the hippocampus
• 3 who suffered from encephalitis resulting in medial temporal lobe damage and anterolateral temporal cortex damage (MTL+)
• H.M. - some lateral temporal lobe damage

Question 5

What was the procedure?

Answer 5

• Amnesia patients divided into groups
• Completed 9 tasks (e.g. pointing to or naming a picture)
• Given a further 4 tasks (H.M. only did 1)
• Percentage if correct responses scored for all tests except 6, 8 and 9

Question 6

Define unilateral lobectomy

Answer 6

The removal of parts of the brain from one hemisphere

Question 7

What were the results for tasks 1-9?

Answer 7

• Participants with damage to the hippocampus performed well (name, point out and answer questions about objects)
• Patients with damage to the medial temporal lobe and anterolateral temporal cortex performed less well in these areas
• When participants were ranked for their overall performance, they corresponded with the amount of damage they suffered

Question 8

What were the results for tasks 10-13?

Answer 8

Participants with MTL+ performed significantly better than the other tests

Question 9

What are the conclusions of the study?

Answer 9

• Damage to the anterolateral temporal cortex is consistent with the loss of semantic memory
• Semantic knowledge is associated with the anterolateral region and not the medial temporal lobe

Question 10

Why did H.M. perform less well than the other patients?

Answer 10

Because he was taken out of school as a child and grew up working class so it’s unlikely he ever obtained the semantic knowledge in the first place

Question 11

Is Schmolck generalisable?

Answer 11

• Only 14 participants in total

- Case studies are unique

Question 12

Is Schmolck reliable?

Answer 12

• Lab study - high reliability

- High Levels of controls such as the images used, the timings etc.

Question 13

Is Schmolck applicable?

Answer 13

• Useful in understanding the effects of brain damage and dementia
• May be investigating how the brain has responded to damage not the effects of damage

Question 14

Is Schmolck valid?

Answer 14

• Control group was matched on age, sex etc so removed extraneous variables
• Lacked mundane realism and ecological validity

Question 15

Is Schmolck ethical?

Answer 15

• Received consent and nobody was harmed

- Worked with vulnerable adults